Robert Singer Part 3: Imaging Translation and Degradation of Single mRNAs in Living Cells

In his last lecture, Singer continues the story of the life and death of RNA. His lab has developed several more fluorescence microscopy techniques that let them study, in real time, the translation and degradation of mRNA. These techniques allow them to track when and where translation begins, how quickly a ribosome binds to a mRNA once it has reached its destination, how long the ribosome stays bound and how rapidly it adds amino acids to a growing protein chain.  In addition, these techniques can be used to unveil the dynamics of RNA degradation. In an interesting twist, it turns out that for mRNAs that must be degraded during the cell cycle, their fate is decided at the time of their birth.